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Who's to blame

Who’s to
blame?

Due to too many complaints by locals of anti-social behavior
from students on Tuesday nights, police constantly need to patrol Glenferrie
Road in Hawthorn.

Constable Tom Roberts from the Boroondara Police Station, said: “Every single
Tuesday night from 11:30pm ‘til late we are guaranteed to get calls from locals
regarding noise complaints from the anti social behavior students cause when
they leave the nightclubs.”

“Behaviour includes: throwing things at cars and urinating
on shop windows and in alleyways not caring that they can be seen in CCTV
footage.”

“When they leave Room 680, they start ‘soft’ fights with
each other then move onto drinking at the next venue around the corner [Cheers],”
says Roberts.

Nightclub venues Room is often blamed for the cause of the
noise, as they are open until very late even though they go to heavy lengths to
ensure it isn’t coming from their venues.

Room’s owner David, is frustrated at constantly copping the
blame for this, as they “are not the cause of the anti social behavior; yet we
cop the blame for it.”

Cheers also cops the blame for noise even though they also obey
council laws, policies and have security guards stationed.

Cheers’ Dwayne Thompson, said: “It's not often noise complaints are made at any time
during the venue and if they are they are dealt with in an effective manner.”

“We try very hard to comply with sound restrictions every
time the venue is in operation and have security guards stationed outside. We
would not still be in operation [since 1973] if we had been ignoring local
council laws.”

Hawthorn is generally very quiet, so these clubs get over
excited students from the Boroondara area that are, unfortunately, uneducated
in how to handle being intoxicated.

Roberts is sick and tired of it, “They are over excited
about being out, can’t handle the intoxication, [as its very new to them] and
often take things too far.”

McDonald’s is another hotspot partygoers and troublemakers
travel to when their night ends.

Roberts said, “Boroondara City Council had plans to station
more security guards at McDonald’s however they just made Police a permanent
feature.”

Many of the students caught are repeat offenders.

Roberts
says, “Many of the students are repeat offenders and from the private schools who
do not seem to care that anti social behaviour is wrong. They feel they can get
away with doing anything.”